Multiple fastener



May 22, 1934- E. HoPKlNsoN Er Al. 1,960,010

MULTIPLE FASTENER Filled June 8, 1925 .0

Patented May 22, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF'lcE Dalton,

Waterbury, Conn.,

assignors to vThe Shoe Hardware Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application June 8, 1925, Serial No. 35,773 9 claims. (c1. 24-zo5) p This invention relates to fastening devices, but more particularly to multiple fasteners engageable or disengageable by operation of a -slider and has for its primary object to provide an improved device of this type.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an improved slider, to permit the slider to be locked automatically or at will in any desired position lengthwise the series of interengageable members, to prevent accidental disengagement of the members, to rigidly attach the members to the stringers, to facilitate the engagement of the members, and to prevent dangling of the slider pull.

The many other objects and advantages of the invention will be better understood by reference to the 'following specification when consideredl in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating a selected embodiment thereof, in which:

Figure.- 1 is a plan view of a pair of stringers provided with our improved fastening device, the stringers being partially attached.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a group of fasteners.

Fig. 4 is a section onV the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the slider,

illustrating the method of assembling the same.

Fig. 6 is a detail view partially in section, illustrating the operation of the t.slider and method of locking the same, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged bottom plan view ofvone of the interengageable members.

Fig. 8 is a cross section similar to that shown in Fig. 6 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 9 is a detail view partly broken away of the Wedge portion of the slider with interen- 40 gageable elements associated therewith. E

The fasteners forming the subject matter of the present invention are adapted to be used asl a closure for an opening in a shoe, garment, tent, box, or any other article. The series of pairs of interengageable members are secured to the edges of the opening and a slider is movable longitudinally of the series to engageor 'disengage these members. Each pair consists of what vmay be termed a hook and an eye, the hooksbeing generally arranged upon the edge ofone Stringer, and the eyes in a similar position on the edge of the opposite Stringer, a1- though it will be readilyevident that this arrangement may be reversed in different pairs. The term Stringer is used in the present application to describe the edge portion of the opening. It is customary in practice to incorporate a cord in the edge of the Stringer to strengthen the fabric an to prevent disengagement of the interengageable members therefrom but this is not necessary. v

The interengageable members are preferably stamped from sheet metal and iirmly crimped upon the edges of the Stringer 10 and 11. The bodies of both of the members of a pair are of greatest extent adjacent their opposed faces. These members have curved anchoring portions for attachment to the stringers. The anchoring portions ofthe interengageable members are of relatively short length as compared to the length of the faces of the interengageable members which are in contact when pairs of the members are in interengagement. The hook members 12/ preferably have the hook 13 struck from the body of the member and these hooks preferably lie substantially in the plane of the Stringer when the member is attached thereto. Perforations as 14 may be provided in the member. Shoulders 15 on opposite faces of the member form guides for the slider as Will be described hereinafter.

The eye member 16 is similar in construction tothe hook member except that the hook is replaced by an opening or eye 17 which is punched therein to receive the corresponding hook. We have found that it is advantageous to make this opening elongated with the central portion thereof constricted substantially as shown in Fig. 4 as all danger of accidental disengagementof the hook from the eye is thereby 90. eliminated. This disengagement is generally due to twisting of the hook within the eye which cannot occur where the eye is constcted. The beak of the `hook 13 enters the opening in the veye member above the constricted portion of such opening and the shank of the hook lies between the constricted walls after the engagement of the member is completed.

In order to prevent twisting of these members on the Stringer, we have struck from the body of the members spaced prongs as 18 which in the present embodiment are disposed on opposite sides of the perforation 19 corresponding to the perforation 14 in the hook members. These prongs are preferably formed during the initial stamping of the member and forced into the Stringer when the member is crimped thereon.

In this embodiment we have 'omitted these prongs from the hook members but it will be readily appreciated. that they are equally apno plicable thereto. The eye members 16 are provided with shoulders for the same purpose v as the corresponding shoulders 15 on the hook member.

The slider of the present embodiment consists of a series of perforated plates 20-24 inclusive,

which are slid upon a pin in the arrangement,

shown in Fig. 5 and securely bound together by heading over the end 26 of this pin or in any other suitable manner. This pin 25 is provided at its opposite end with a hook 27 and prior to the heading of the pin, a pull 28 is attached thereto by inserting the hook through a perforation in the pull. When the slider is completely assembled the plate 20 is securely held against shoulders 29 and 30 respectively formed by a lug on the pin 26 and the end of the hook 27. 'I'his permanently retains the pull upon the hook and forms an advantageous hinge connection between the pull and slider.

'I'he plate 20 of the slider is provided with flanges 31 along its converging side edges to coact with the corresponding shoulders 15 and 15 on the members to draw these members into engagement when the slider is moved longitudinally of the series in one direction. Similar anges 32 on the plate 24 coact with the corresponding shoulders on the rear faces of the members in like manner. The plates 21-23 preferably form a substantially wedge shaped block which disengages the members when the slider is moved in the opposite direction. The

`edges of these plates21-23 on the side of the eye member form a flat surface against which the edge faces of these members are held by the flanges 31 and 32 on the plates 20 and 24 respectively. On the side of the hook member the edges of the plates 21 and 23 project beyond the corresponding edge of the plate 22 and thus form with this plate a central groove which accurately aligns the hooks to Ypermit them to properly enter the corresponding eye members. This is an advantageous feature.

In order to enable the slider to be locked in any desiredl position lengthwise of the series of interengageable members, we have provided a pin 33 on the pull 28 which is adapted to project through a perforation 34 in the plate 20 when the pull is in the depending position as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing.` This pin then lies substantially at but slightly to one side of the longitudinal median line of the interengageable elements and between two of the hook members confined by the slider andobstructs the movement of the slider longitudinally of the series of members. The pin also is locked in obstructing contact with a hook before such hook is disengaged from its eye member. The withdrawal of the pin permits the slider to move freely in either direction. This locking of the slider is a very advantageous feature.

Frequently it is desired to only partially close the opening. Heretofore, in many slide fastener assemblies, no means have been' provided to permit the slider to be locked in a position intermediate the ends of the series of fasteners and it could be readily moved longitudinally of the stringers by a pull on the stringers tending to draw these apart. A pull of this character cannot cause any movement of our slider' when the locking pin is lnl obstructing position. 'I'he pin 33 is moved out of operative or. locking position by merely swinging the pull 28 outwardly and upwardly on its hinge jointforation 34 in the plate 20. This perforation is preferably elongated in order to permit the arcuate movement of the pin as it enters or leaves the same. The releasing by the operator of the pull after the slider has been moved to any desired position causes the pull to drop to its depending position and thus automatically locks the slider against displacement relative to the member. The locking pin has a further function in that it acts to prevent the free swinging of the pull on its hinge connection. This is due to the engagement of the pin by one of the hook members within the slider and it is particularly advantageous in the ca se of footwear as the dangling of this pull is a source of constant annoyance to the wearer.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that we have providedL a simple, strong, and easily operable form of fastener which is economical to construct and attractive in appearance. The members are rigidly attached to the stringer so that they readily interengage when brought together by the movement of the slider. The form of the opening in the eye member is such that the hook readily enters but cannot twist therein and thereby become accidentally disengaged. The slider is manually shifted longitudinally of the stringers by means of a pull which also acts to lock the slider either automatically or at will in any desired position intermediate the ends of the series of interengageable members. 'I'his pull also is prevented from freelyswinging upon its hinge connection by the locking means. The spaced prongs on certain of the interengageable members prevent any possible tendency of these members to became twisted or displaced upon the stringers. The slider is. simple in construction andymay be easily oper` ated. The three part block between the outer plates of the slider forms an advantageous guiding means for the hooks and insures their proper entry into the corresponding openings in the eye members.

We are aware that the form and arrangement of parts may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of our invention and we reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described our invention, what 125 we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A multiple fastening device comprising interengageable hook and eye members secured to opposite sides of an opening, a slider for oper- 130 ating said members, the openings in said eye members being longer than wide and the width being constricted adjacent the central portion thereof.

2. A multiple fastening device comprising hook 135 and eye members secured to opposite sides of an opening,fa slider for interengaging said members, the openings in each of said eye members being elongated and having the width thereof constricted immediately below the path of the 140 beak of the hook through the eye.

3. A multiple fastening device comprising interengageable hook and eye members secured to opposite sides of an opening, and a slider for operating said members, the opening in each of 145 said eye members resembling a dumb-bell in outline.

4. A multiple fastening device having `a series of interengageable members in combination with a Slider. for operating thel members, said slider 150 having a pull hinged to the body thereof, a pin on the pull adjacent the hinge, the body of the slider being provided with an opening for the passage of said pin to and from a position ob structing displacement of the slider with respect to said interengageable members.

5. A multiple fastener device comprising a pair of flexible stringers, each having a beaded edge, a series of interengageable members on each of said stringers', and a slider forA engaging and disengaging said members, certain of said members having Stringer gripping portions for attaching the members and conforming to the beaded edges of said stringers and spaced prongs projecting from one face of each of said Stringer gripping portions intovthe beaded edge of the stringer to prevent twisting of the members on said stringers.

6. A multiple fastener device comprising a pair of flexible stringers, each having a beaded edge, a series of interengageable members on each of said stringers, and a slider for engaging and disengaging said members, certain of said members having stringer gripping portions for attaching the members and conforming to the beaded edges of said stringers and spaced prongs struck from the body of at least one of the Stringer gripping portions and projecting into the beaded edge of the stringer to prevent twisting of the members on the stringers.

7. Amultiple fastener pair of exible stringers, a series of interengageable members on each of said stringers, and a device comprising a slider 'for engaging and disengaging said members, certain of said members having perforated Stringer gripping portions provided with prongs struck from the body thereof at intervals about the edge of the perforations therein and projecting into the material of the Stringer.

8. A slider for a multiple fastening device having a converging guideway for operating a series of interengageable hook and eye members. a pull pivoted on the slider, a projection carried by the pull substantially centrally of its width and intermediate the length thereof adapted to be moved into locking engagement with the interengageable elements, the projection being so positioned relative to the other parts of the slider that in locking position it extends between two of the hooks at least one of which is held in engaged position with an eye member within the convergent guideway, there being an aperture in the slider to permit passage of the projection therethrough into locking position.

9. A multiple fastening device having series of interengageable members in combination with a slider for operating the members, said slider having a pull hinged to the body thereof, a pin on the pull adjacent the hinge, the body of the slider being provided with an opening on substantially its medial line and inside of said hinge for. the passage of said pin to and from a position obstructing displacement of the slider with respect Ato said interengageable members.

ERNEST HOPKINSON. DANIEL F. DALTON.

'a o DISCLAIMER.

1,960,010,E1nest Hopkinson, New york, N. Y., and Daniel F. Dalton, Waterbury, onn. MULTIPLE FAs'rnNnn. Patent dated May 22, 1934. Disclaimer filed Junev2, 1938, by theassignee, Talon, Inc. Hereb disclaims claim 4 in toto from the scope of said Letters Patent.

[ jcial Gazette July 5, 1938.] 

